Rock Tumbling Tutorial, getting the best from your National Geographic rock tumbler.
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- Опубліковано 28 кві 2020
- I have been rock tumbling now for a year and find I can polish stones and pebbles to a very high finish. This is a great craft hobby and here is how I achieve such rewarding results. Follow this process and you too can achieve great results.
My machine is the National Geographic Hobby edition and I have been using it for just one year. It is an excellent little machine and as you will see from this video can give great results.
This tutorial is a guide for beginners and for those of you who have struggled to achieve a polish with your rock tumbler.
I have tried to show a step by step process following a complete tumble from start to finish showing the rocks before and after tumbling.
If you want to know more about this fascinating hobby check out my other videos on this subject: Rock tumbling for beginners • Rock Tumbling for begi...
You can learn heaps more about this subject by visiting these two youtube channels meMiner / meminerrocks
Michigan rocks / michiganrocks
Thank you guys!
I collect most of my rocks and pebbles rock hounding on my local beach here in the UK.
The rocks are a mixture of Chalcedony type beach pebbles of Agate hardness.
I find the best place to buy Borax powder and silica carbide grit is from eBay, you can get them here:
Borax powder ebay.to/35gUP66
Tumbler and polishing grit: amzn.to/3pGyicM
Silicon carbide grit: ebay.to/2yVppWE
I bought my rock tumbler here: amzn.to/38TQtFW
You can also buy your rock tumbler from here: ebay.to/3mjFDfR
If you would like to see examples of my professional stone engraving work
please visit www.stoneengravings.co.uk
If you would like to learn how to engrave stone like this: www.stoneengravings.co.uk/mem...
Thank you to Megapaul for the great intro music "Mandolina Smith"
www.looperman.com/loops?page=...
www.looperman.com/loops (Royalty Free Music Licence) - Навчання та стиль
I think I've watched every tumbling video on UA-cam over the last few weeks since I took up this hobby, and this is without doubt the most informative one there is. Thanks so much. 👍
Glad you enjoyed it! and thank you for watching
I agree!
Very helpful!! Thank you.
idk anything about rock tumbling but watching these videos is soothing and interesting.
Thank you for watching
I have watched SO many videos and read articles and books on how to get my rocks to shine at the final stage. Honestly, I was having second thoughts about this hobby....this is the most informative video I've seen! Detailed without boredom. I can't wait to try this out, I'll give it one more go. Our 10 year old will be excited to see this as well. Thanks for taking the time!!
Good luck with your tumbling, let me know how you get on, thanks for watching.
Such a beautiful shine! Thank you for sharing! 😊
Thanks for watching!
Brilliant
Thank you, happy new year!
They all look so beautiful!! The black ones n the green one are my favorites outta this batch!! Happy Tumbling!!
I have just made a pendant out of one of the stones I thought was black but it is in fact very very dark brown! Still beautiful though, like tortoiseshell. Thank you for watching.
Beautiful! I run mine all the time too. I just ordered a double tumbler. I just love this hobby. Thank you for this video ☺️.
Have fun! Thank you for watching
Thank you ❤️😊
You’re welcome 😊 I hope you are enjoying tumbling!
thank you so much for the informative video! you have totally inspired me to go from not picking up my rock tumbler that i got a few years back as a gift and never happening to use to now deciding to start tumbling after this video! not only has it given me a detailed process to look back on while i’m tumbling my rocks, the essence of this video has an amazing calming quality that helps distract me from the stress of modern day life. i’m looking forward to checking out your channel more and if you end up reading this, have a wonderful rest of your day :)
Thank you Lilly for the kind comments, it means a lot! Tumbling is a great hobby that extends beyond the workshop, I spend much of my time on walks looking down for interesting pebbles! Enjoy your tumbling!
Thank you sir
Welcome!
Thank you for the help! Been struggling to get a good polish and hopefully your video helps:)
Hi Raquel, I hope it helps also, keep try you will get it right soon and it is a great hobby.
I just got my tumbler in the mail today. Just got the first batch started!
How exciting, try to be patient and enjoy your tumbling!
Thankyou for you video🎉 Such great tips for newbies to tumbling! Couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting shine, great tips on the borax and zinc❣
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching.
I have the same tumbler and I’m loving it!! It is so much fun figuring out what works best. I have a tumbler full of Dallasite ready for the polish and I’m adding Borax for the first time. I’ve done some trial and error tumbles, but so far these rocks look fantastic! Thanks for the tips!
Hi, If you get a good one this is one of the best little tumblers and I am so pleased you are enjoying yours. Thank you for watching!
I've watched a lot of rock tumbling videos and I think yours is right up at the top. You got excellent results as well. I'm actually going to Harbor freight today to get one of their double barrel tumblers. Each barrel holds 3 lbs. My granddaughter is so excited.
I hope you both enjoy this hobby as much as I do! I seriously envy the range and variety of rocks you have available in USA. Best wishes and thank you for watching.
Thanks
Welcome
Thank you for making this video. I have the same tumbler and was disappointed with the results of my first batch. I’ve watched some videos and my second batch is better, but not quite there yet. I’m excited to start my third batch with the knowledge I’ve gained from your helpful video!
Glad it was helpful! Don't forget you could put your stones in again at the pre-polish and polishing stage if you want to improve the finish. Also after 7-10 days at polishing stage take a few out and have a look, if they are not polished well put them back in the barrel for another week. It is often worth it! Thanks for watching.
I just go through your videos slowly, few in a day, and they're incredibly structured and informative and interesting to watch. You got nice narrative voice.
As for the black stones, it is volcanics I'm sure, but I would say it's basalt. You can check online geological map of your region, I'm sure you'll be able to name most of your stones with it. The ones with remarkable patterns will be easy to identify for sure
Hi, thanks for the interesting input, I will have a look for the geological map though there is so much variety among the stones I am not sure i will be able to identify individual pebbles. But I will try. i am hoping to join a local geological club when Covid allows. Thank you for the kind comments.
love your channel I have just become obsessed with rock tumbling and am looking for my first machine, which is hard being UK based. would you still recommend this machine now you have used it for a while. If you want to save money you can use the tile spacers that are ceramic and they are very cheap, ceramics can be used again and again so are not wasted just make sue you keep using them with the same grit they were first run on. another option is to get a 1.5lb barrel and use this for the final stage as you will have less rocks as they are smaller and it would be easier to fill. The last thing i have learned is that after the 4 stage you can do one more called burnishing clean of your stage for stones then fill the barrel with water and add ivory soap shavings and run for 3 to 24 hours and this will give you a much better polish.
Hi Stephen, my machine is still working OK after a year, so I would recommend so far! I bought it because it was the cheapest one on the UK market. I have never seen ceramic tile spacers only plastic ones, is that what you mean? If so it is an interesting idea and I might try this out. (adding small plastic pieces) Getting a smaller barrel will not help, I think my hobby barrel is the smallest available. My method of building up a stock of stones at various stages of polish seems to work though it would be nice to find a low cost filler media. I am currently trying out soap again in a run and will let you know how I get on. Thanks for the input and I hope you get tumbling soon, it is an absorbing hobby.
I just got my very first rock Tumblr and could not figure out why they were coming back pretty but not shiny like yours have I’m definitely going to try and improve my tumbling! Right now I’m just using the grid that came with the Tumblr from National Geographic so just one through four not quite the same as what you have and some ceramic pellets!
Hi, I think the tumbler is supplied with just the bare minimum of grit and polish for one tumble. The slurry for each grit is not really re-usable as the silcon carbide grinds down to a finer and finer grade during a single tumble. You will need to buy more grit. Choose smoother stones to start with, and allow a several days longer on the first, third and polishing stages. I think this will give you a better shine. Best of luck!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 Oh yes! I did buy more grit packets and have been using those they are just the same as the ones that come with me Tumblr. I don’t know if i could re use them haha! I’ll look for a place to buy more grit so I can add a little bit more to the tumble!
Amazing video thanks just started tumbling. Do you find with the final zinc oxide polish you don't need to burnish the stones with ivory soap, it looks like an amazing shine / finish you have achieved ! Keep up the good work cheers.
It varies from batch to batch. I tend to decide on the spot. I don;t think there is any down side to running the final burnish even if you are not sure it needs it. Thank you for watching and for the nice comments. Enjoy your tumbling!
hello! i love this video, this knowledge has helped me in learning how to get the best polish out of my tumbler. i just have one question. i have the “professional” 3 lb barrel tumbler. do you think the size would effect the times for each grit? thank you for the informational video, cheers!
Hi, not so much the times but you would need more grit. Thanks for the kind comments and for watching.
very good and informative video. thank you. i think i'll get one of these. my question is if you had it to do over again would you get the bigger size ?
Hi Bill, I think I would go for a bigger machine. I think the stones will polish better in a larger barrel, (more movement). However this of course will incur more cost. Good luck with your tumbling and please let us know how you get on.
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 yes thank you for the follow up. i live in northern minnesota(states) and there are a lot of interesting rocks around here and geology. i've collected some over time so this activity makes sense to me. just subscribed to your channel... take care !
What a great idea about the pots for each stage. I really enjoy your videos.
Thanks so much!
Great stones. I use my tumbler a lot but I have never used Borax, I will have to get some. Can I ask where you get your stones?
Almost all of my stones come off my local beaches in Hampshire/Dorset. i did take a trip to Devon and found beautiful stones there. Borax definitely works, also giving the tumbler a lot more time. Good luck with your tumbling, let me know if borax works for you!
So very pretty, I wonder though I have some stones that are beautiful when they're wet and they're already smooth can I skip all the steps and go straight to the polishing
Hi Sherry, the only way to short-cut the polishing process is to use a varnish. I show how to do this here ua-cam.com/video/yxO2pkeRm5E/v-deo.html The polish this way will not last as long and will not be perfect but it is quick. Make sure the stones are utterly dry! Best of luck,
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 I thank you so much wonderful advice
I'm a newbie with the same NG tumbler. Used the NG 4 step process and my stones came out dull. I tried burnishing and no luck. I ordered some cerium oxide (CO) (rust colored) and again polished the first batch and they still came out dull. I noticed you use Silica Carbide at every level through the 122 grit stage. Many sites, however, recommend using Aluminum Oxide for the 500/600 grade and beyond. Could this be why my rocks are dull and do you find the SC to work better? I am now running the finished rocks back at the 600 grit level and will re-polish them to see if that helps. I now have some aluminum oxide 8000 grit polish to use, but would you recommend instead I get the Zinc Oxide. What grit level of ZO do you use? I love the hobby and your video is the best I have found. I am a perfectionist and this is teaching me great patience. :) Thank you.
Hi David, I dont have any experience with using Aluminium oxide for tumbling, I believe that silica carbide is a bit harder. If this is the case the sc will work better on longer tumbles. The commonest reason for not getting a polish is not enough time. I allow 10 days for the pre polish and polish stages, and will often do longer. I thinks if you are re-running the last two stages you will get a good polish, cross fingers!
what are cost affect ways to replace ceramic filler, just smooth small rocks? what size would be ideal? anything else I could use instead?
I always just use pea shingle, sized 8 -15mm-ish. Choose stones as smooth and without cracks or holes. Also plastic beads at the pre polish and polish stage, these are cost effective as they are re-usable. Hope this helps.
I have the exact same tumbler, is it better to use borax instead of ceramic pellets? I bought more tumbling grit and it says if you don't have enough rocks, to fill the space with ceramic or plastic pellets. I have ceramic, not getting very good results. I'm new to this and would appreciate any guidance you can offer, also you had 5 steps but the instructions only had 4. Thanks, love your video.
Hi Diane, I do only use 4 steps, 40-80 grit then 220 grit, 400-500 grit then the polishing stage. The biggest cause of failure in tumbling (in my opinion) is using the wrong rocks. Use a steel knife blade, if you can scratch the rock it probably won't polish well, if you can scratch them easily they won't tumble polish at all! I exclusively use plastic pellets, no borax no soap and not ceranic media and I get brilliant a polish. ua-cam.com/video/Mq32zfIChHU/v-deo.html Best of luck and don't give up!
Hey there what a cool video I just have a question for you on those 12 days how is the consuming of electricity like, is it very high or not that much?
Hi Tania, truthfully I am not sure. It is not a big motor, I am told it is similar to using a light bulb, but it is not a big amount of electricity, we haven't noticed any increase in our bills. Good luck with your tumbling and thanks for watching.
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 Thank you so much super useful info through the whole video and through your last comment🙏
Quick question! You showed you were using borax powder to help polish your rocks, but borax is banned in the UK. Do you use borax substitute? If not, do you have any recommendations on other substitutes I can use to get my rocks nice and shiny? Thanks! Great videos, keep it up! :)
Hi, thanks for bringing this up. I was not aware that Borax was banned in UK! It is banned, yet I was able to buy on eBay! I have done a little bit of research and the risk seems very low and only if you ingest it. See article here: moralfibres.co.uk/is-borax-safe/#:~:text=First%20off%2C%20it's%20critical%20to,only%20buy%20%E2%80%9CBorax%20Substitute%E2%80%9D.
However I will not buy this again. You can buy Borax alternative but I have no idea if this would work as well. I would suggest a good alternative would be a plain bar of soap, grate a small amount into the barrel. lots of tumblers use this. I am finding That if I tumble at the polishing stage and pre polish for longer I am getting excellent results without Borax. Best of luck!
Great video thanks. Can you tell me what weight of stones this tumbler takes? Happy retirement btw!
Hi Sarah, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I have just finished s tumble run and weighed the barrel, The total weight including stones water grit and barrel (without lid) was just over 2lb. As far as I can see there is no weight given in the instruction booklet. The barrel is pretty much the same size as my other 2lb barrels so I will put my neck out and say this is a 2lb barrel. Thanks for watching and thank you for the good wishes.
I am curious as to what you do with all your finished stones?
That;s a good question, what am I going to do with my polished stones? LOL. I have ideas but so little time ( I'm supposed to be retired, why am I so busy?) . I will try to make a few things in future vids. Thank you for watching.
Do certain stones tumble better together, or stones that do better with more time than others?
Hi, it is certain that some stones tumble better than others. Generally speaking harder stones like agates polish better than softer stones. You should try to tumble stones of the same hardness if you can, otherwise the harder stones might scratch the softer ones. Harder stones do take longer to polish. If you are buying rocks the sellers may be able to guide you. If you are tumbling collected pebbles it is a case of estimating the hardness, not always easy to do. This hobby is all about trial and error, its the fun off it! Good luck and enjoy your tumbling.
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 thank you.
What would happen if I left all of the rocks in there? Like I just did the first grit for 4 days and some aren't done. (Most of them are tho) Is it ok to just leave them all in there? What's the worst that could happen? They just tumble into nothing? 😬
I used the stones that came with the NG hobby tumbler. Youd think they'd only put rocks in with a similar hardness. 😂 But the tigers eye and a few Jasper's seem really jagged still
Could you use pumice?
Hi Ken, some rock tumbling suppliers sell Pumice powder as a polish, I have tried it once and found it did not work in that instance. I am going to try it again a few times. It may be it works with some rocks and not others. Cheers.
Have you thought of using sugar with the borax? it will thicken the slurry, And why do you use zinc oxide vs tin or aluminum or even cilium or silicate, for polish?
I have not tried sugar, the borax works well without any additions. I have tried soap a few times, it does not work for me. If you have tried this let us know how you get on. I use zinc oxide as this was recommended by the supplier when I first bought the replacement grits etc. It worked so I stayed with it. Can't say if one polish is better than another, this may depend on the stones you are polishing. I will be trying different things over the next few years.Thanks for the input!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 I only asked about the Zinc because of freeradicals released if exposed to UV, I use tin oxide or aluminum depending on gem or stone, tin is good for glass agate apatite opal and things like that, gems, aluminum is good for stone
Thank you I got one for my birthday but I did not know how to use it!
Happy birthday! Enjoy your tumbling!
Great video but you keep saying you adjust the borax “if too thick”. I have no idea what that means though. Is there any way you can show what too thick or too thin is?
Hi Morris, ideally after a day or so tumbling at any stage the slurry in the barrel should be a consistency of cream, not too thick and not too watery. There has to be plenty of movement - tumbling action in the barrel. I have sometimes added too much borax or soap and the slurry gets so thick that there is little or no movement with the pebbles sticking to the side of the barrel. When this happens I simply add more water and possibly remove a bit of the thick paste. Hope this helps, I will try to make a video showing this fairly soon. Thanks for the question and please stay safe!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 I am working through my first tumble. I am sure you get this with practice but everyone says “look to see if it is polished enough”. I think this is like faceting, where it took 30 goes to see what everyone meant. So, will do “formula” of 7 days on each and see the results. Up to Grade 2. Patience needed!
I’ve followed pretty much to a t and I still can’t get that shine at the end? I don’t know if it’s cause I have soda crystals instead of borax? I did google and they said it’s the same just less abrasive?
Hi Linsey, I doubt if it is just the soda crystals.Adding Borax or soap mainly simply slightly thickens the mix. The single most important ingredient I have found to be is is Time. When I have a batch that does not polish well I will put it back to the pre polish stage (400-600 grit) and run again for 10 -15 days, then polish for a further 10-15 days. You could try using a small amount of grated soap instead of Borax. I have also found plastic beads to be useful to prevent the stones damaging each other in the barrel. best of luck and please don't give up!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 I’ve popped them back in yesterday with just the zync oxide but I’ll add some grated soap today thank you
my tumbler won't stay running any tips?
Hi, check the barrel is not overloaded, thermal cutout lights flashing? have you oiled bearings and motor bearing, if motor runs but barrel stopped check for slipping belt, grease on belt, drive wheels slipping on shaft etc. Hope this helps.
Come on guys give some likes to this video
Thank you, I will struggle on neglected and unloved! LOL! Thanks for watching.
What does the borax do?
There is some talk on the internet that the borax is a mild abrasive but I don't really share that view, I use it mostly as a thickener at the later stages when the natural slurry is slow to build up, it prevents the stones crashing about in thin water. Cheers
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 thank you so much! Very nice to know. I'm on the last stage of tumbling for the first time. Cheers👋
from doing this as a performance task, to having interest in doing these. gotta save my money for the materials
You are very talented. I do hope you can find the time to enjoy rock tumbling! thank you for watching.
Hi love yr channel. I have the professional version looks a little different an I've been using it steady fr about a yr an all of a sudden the drive shaft started to jerk then stop I tried new belt an it made no difference now it wont move even without belt or barrel I ended up getting my money back but I was wondering if there was a way of fixing it
Hi Tracy, I really don't know. I have been waiting for my little Hobby to stop working so I can pull it apart but so far the thing just keeps going. As a matter of interest did you try to oil the motor bearing? I find they start to make horrible noises when not oiled but keep on running with s drop of oil. Perhaps if you get another machine worth thinking about. I hope you do get another machine and carry on tumbling.
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 I'd have to flip it upside down to get at drive shaft but what little of the shaft that is on outside I tried oil that actually made worse but thanks if I figure it out I'll let u know
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 is ir possible to email some picks of my nat geo I took the bottom off theres almost nothing inside I was surprised
@@tlk13ns Hi Tracy, if you email me through my website form, www.stoneengravings.co.uk/information/contact/
I will reply with an email you can attache photos to. Now the back is off can you get oil to the motor bearings? I imagine there should be an on-off switch/day timer and a speed control. do any of the electrics look burned? I am not sure if spares are available in the UK the only place it might be possible is on ebay from China, if the motor has a part no. on it. I will look for your email.
Do you save the grit material after each stop, or do you throw it away? It would seem that the batch could be used to augment new material at the more fine levels. Very new to this and this might be a newbie question.
Hi Terry, I have seen people claiming to save the grit to re-use but I am sure this would not work. As the stones tumble the grit is quickly ground down finer and finer. So much so that I have actually achieved a semi-polish using 80 grit that was left running too long. Unless you have a way to accurately gauge the grit it will be unusable. You simply won't know how fine or coarse the slurry is. Not to mention the risk of carrying over small pieces of stone chips and grit at the finer stages. Good luck with your tumbling and enjoy!
My son got a tumbler for gift I'm sure I'm way more excited than him.
Enjoy!